


Cats Are Always On The Wrong Side Of A Door

by MaxTheDumbass



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Animal Transformation, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Kittens, M/M, Mostly fluff though, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:08:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28644222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaxTheDumbass/pseuds/MaxTheDumbass
Summary: Michael Shelley is able to survive his encounter with the Spiral. But he hasn't gotten out unscathed, the encounter leaving him a bit more fluffy than he remembers, and it definitely doesn't help that his boyfriend can't seemed to realize the cat following him around everywhere was him!
Relationships: Gerard Keay/Michael Shelley
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	Cats Are Always On The Wrong Side Of A Door

For as long as he could remember Michael Shelley had been afraid of being alone. He had been a lonely child, turns out you get bullied when you tell other 7 year olds you're now deeply afraid of doors after you saw one eat someone. Michael had spent most of his childhood alone eating lunch in the library, praying for someone who wanted him around.

Eventually, he met Gerry.

He was like no one he ever met before, he didn't push him away, he didn't laugh at his interests, he even took his door story seriously! Not even Miss Robinson did that! Gerry actually thought Michael was worth something, and it was a one of a kind feeling Michael never wanted to let go of.

Michael had fallen in love with him. He wasn't surprised of course; he had always been a complete hopeless romantic, catching feelings for any man that showed the slightest bit of kindness to him. What was surprising, was that Gerry felt the same way, which Michael learned via Gerry casually asking him out as he packed up his belongings to head home. He had been so flustered he hadn't been able to get a sentence out for a solid five minutes.

Finally Michael hadn't been alone anymore, he had a wonder goth boyfriend who gave him all the attention he could ever need. But it seemed he was fated to die just as lonely as he had been in his childhood.

Michael didn't want to die, he finally had things to look forward to in life, a future with someone he truly adored. But he had been naive and stupid and trusted their boss Gertrude Robinson and agreed to go with her on a simple trip to Russia.

Simple had been one hell of an understatement. 

He'd done everything he was supposed to. Smashed all the wretched mirrors and doors Gertrude had told him to, stopped the great evil in the center of this twisting maze he now found himself in. But it seemed despite doing everything right, Michael was still going to die here.

Gertrude had told Michael how to get to the center and kill the monster within, but not how to leave once he had completed that task. Michael had a sinking feeling she didn't expect him to make it out of the encounter alive. So he found himself once again alive weakly stumbling through hallways of impossibilities as the cold of the Russian arctic gradually sept through his body.

Weakly he leaned against the nearest door inhaling what he thought would be his last breath as frostbite stole his consciousness. 

Then he woke up.

He didn't wake up in the flat he had been sharing in the apartment he had been sharing with Gerry the past couple weeks, which was the first sign to Michael things weren't completely right. The second was that he appeared to be less than a foot tall.

Michael looked down to realize he had tiny little paws, he had woken up in the body of a small ginger kitten. 

Now Michael was a fan of cats, absolutely adored the things, but he didn't exactly want to be one. He moved his tiny head in an attempt to try and get a better look of his surroundings, get an idea as to where he was. Quickly connecting the dots to the fact he was in the back alley beside The Magnus Institute.

There was hope! Surely Gerry wouldn't recognize him even if he was a cat! He'd know what to do! He always knew what to do in these kinds of situations! Carefully Michael waddled on up the familiar ivory steps of The Magnus Institute.

Gerard Keay was used to the weird and bizarre, it was kind of his whole job, hunting down the odd and unusual and making sure it didn't hurt anyone. 

That being said, absolutely nothing could have prepared him for Rosie panickedly running into the office yelling, “There's a cat loose in the archives!”

Gertrude stared at her absolutely dumbfounded, clearly as confused by what she just said as he was. 

“There's a _what_ loose in the Archives?”

“A cat-” Rosie repeated nervously “A- uh- small ginger kitten.”

“How the absolute fuck did a cat get into the archives!” Gerry asked.

“He-He just kinda walked on in,” Rosie explained.

“Why didn't you stop him!” Gertrude snapped causing Gerry to flinch slightly.

“He was small and I didn't see him!”

Gertrude sighed in annoyance, “Gerry please forgive me well have to continue this conversation in a moment, it seems I have a cat situation to attend to.”

“Oh uh, Okay? Do you like need any help with that?” Gerry asked awkwardly.

“I think I can handle a kitten,” Gertrude said coldly walking out of her office, Rosie following close behind, leaving Gerry in the room alone.

Gertrude hadn't explicitly told Gerry why she had called him into her office, but it wasn't too hard to put together why, he wasn't an idiot. She and Michael had gone off on a “business trip” together. And only Gertrude had returned, he already knew she had called him in to tell him his boyfriend was dead before she even had begun speaking.

And now Gertrude was off chasing a kitten around the Archives as Gerry was left alone to process what surely must have just happened. 

Michael would have absolutely giggled his heart out at the idea of a cat in the Archives. He was cute like that, always had a soft spot for animals. Gerry was pretty sure he had talked to him about how he was considering going vegetarian at least three times. 

A pit sunk to the bottom of Gerry’s stomach when he realized he was thinking of Michael in the past tense already. Was he truly that quick to accept the only one who ever loved him was gone? He didn't know how to feel about that.

Right as Gerry began to bite back tears Gertrude returned to her office a small wiggly ginger kitten in her hand.

“I found the culprit,” She said, her voice unfittingly monotone for someone holding a two month old kitten.

Gerry forced a chuckle, “aww he's an awful cutie for such a troublemaker.”

“Yes, indeed I suppose,” She said calmly putting the cat on her desk, who promptly waddled on over to Gerry happily. Gerry gave him some chin scratches.

“I suppose you already know you're here,” Gertrude began.

Gerry sighed, “No need to beat around the bush about it, I know Michael's dead.”

The kitten meowed loudly in response to that.

She sighed “Yes I figured you would have come to that conclusion.”

“I mean it's a pretty fair judgement to make isnt it? Two people go one a trip only one person returns, it doesn't take much to connect the dots that something happened. So am I right? Is Michael- Is he really dead?”

Gertrude frowned, “I’m afraid it's most likely what happened.”

“You don't know for sure?”

“I wasn't able to find a body to verify his death completely.”

The kitten meowed at her again, realistically the poor thing was just hungry, but Gerry couldn't help but think it was just as suspicious of her words as she was. There definitely was more she wasn't telling him.

“What a vocal little thing that one is,” Gertrude commented eyeing the cat on the table, “Suppose we should turn it to a shelter shouldn't we?”

“Yeah probably,” Gerry said mindlessly petting the cat which was happily rubbing up against his hand, “Although, part of me thinks some company wouldn't be half bad right now.”

“You're going to keep it?” Gertrude said, sounding genuinely surprised.

He shrugged, “Maybe foster him for a little bit, get my mind of uh- things.”

“Yes I suppose so.”

“Not a fan of cats Mrs Robinson?” Gerry asked with a chuckle.

She laughed dryly “Quite the contrary actually, i'm actually quite fond of the things. I've just learned it's better to not get attached to things in this line of work.”

“Yeah that's probably true, but Michael would have talked me into keeping him,” He said softly.

“Yes that definitely sounds like him…”

“Mew!” said the kitten.

“Any ideas on what you'll name him?” Gertrude asked.

Gerry smiled sadly, “I'm thinking maybe Michael…”

The kitten meowed happily as Gerry said that. 

“I highly doubt that's a healthy way to cope,” Gertrude told him.

“No probably not, but I also really don't care.” He told her, carefully placing Michael the Cat in his bag making sure he had plenty of room to poke his head out the top and look around. 

“I'll see you tomorrow Gertrude, until then I guess I should focus on cat proofing me and Mi-” He cleared his throat awkwardly “My… apartment.”

“Yes that would most likely be a good idea, well then goodnight Gerard.”

“Night Gertrude.” Gerry said heading out of her office holding the bag containing cat Michael close to him as he walked. Heading towards an apartment that would feel a lot more lonely than Gerry had gotten used to it being the past several weeks.


End file.
